RN San Giorgio (1938).

[ImportantSimone5]

[Would you like to see this in-game?]

• Yes
• Maybe
• No

RN San Giorgio (1938).

History.

The R.N. San Giorgio was an armored cruiser of the Regia Marina that participated first in the Italo-Turkish War and later in the two World Wars and the Spanish Civil War. The ship was laid down in 1905 (based on the old Pisa-class cruisers) and was launched in 1908 and entered the ranks of the Navy two years later. During the Italo-Turkish War she was used as an improvised artillery battery to protect convoys, and in the Great War she was used in attacks against Austro-Hungarian navy ships. After World War I the ship was used for voyages to South America, and with the outbreak of civil war in Spain it was used to escort Italian troops in support of Spanish nationalists. Between 1937 and 1938, precisely because of the outbreak of war in Spain, it was decided that the ship needed to be modernized so that it could be put to better use for training naval crews. Six boilers and two funnels were removed, and there was also the upgrading of the armament on the ship. After the work, the ship was obviously used as a training ship, but was later sent to Tobruk to operate as a floating anti-aircraft battery, and met her sad and notorious end.
The ship’s motto was “Protector et vindicator”.

Armaments and propulsion.

The ship had heavy, if a few antiquated, armament. On two twin armored towers located one at the stern and one at the bow of the ship there were four 254/45 A. Mod. 1907 cannons of English origin. Eight 190/45 A Mod. 1908 cannons (also of English origin) were placed on smaller but always twin towers. The anti-aircraft armament consisted of 8 100/47 pieces in twin turrets and 4 Breda Mod. 31 machine guns in twin systems.
The ship was powered by eight Blechynden oil boilers and two reciprocating engines. There were also two 18,200 horsepower propellers on the drive shaft and there were only two funnels. Despite this, the ship reached a speed of 18 knots and had a maximum range of 5,741 km.

Specifications.

Spoiler

Crew: 699
Displacement: 9,000 tons
Length: 139 m
Width: 21 m
Draft: 6,858 m
Machinery: 8 boilers, 2 shafts, 2 VTE, 18,000 hp
Speed: 18 knots
Belt armor: 200 mm
Turret armor: 160–200 mm
Bridge armor: 50 mm
Conning tower armor: 254 mm
Armament: 4x 254/45 A. Mod. 1907, 8x 190/45 A Mod. 1908, 8x 100/47 and 4x Breda Mod. 31

Pictures and drawnings.

Spoiler

Sources.

Spoiler

San Giorgio (incrociatore) - Wikipedia
San Giorgio - Marina Militare
https://www.ocean4future.org/savetheocean/archives/74914
https://www.difesaonline.it/news-forze-armate/storia/la-grande-avventura-del-san-giorgio-un-episodio-poco-noto-della-storia
Vita e fine della San Giorgio - Archivio storico Istituto Luce
L'Incrociatore San Giorgio - una nave famosa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHlMCNk0M20
anmi taranto
san giorgio | L'ITALIA COLONIALE
incrociatori di classe San Giorgio
Classe San Giorgio
0026 – SAN GIORGIO 1938-1940 l.f.t. 140,90 m 1:100 | Associazione Navimodellisti Bolognesi
Italian cruiser San Giorgio - Wikipedia
https://comandosupremo.com/san-giorgio-class-cruiser/
https://naval-encyclopedia.com/ww1/italy/san-giorgio-class-armoured-cruisers.php
San Giorgio 1938
Italian cruiser San Giorgio | Military Wiki | Fandom
San Giorgio-class cruiser - Wikiwand
Italian cruiser San Giorgio - Alchetron, the free social encyclopedia
EVASanGiorgioFBustelo
San Giorgio
https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/topics/san+giorgio+class+cruiser
SAN GIORGIO armoured cruisers (1910 - 1911)
Navi e Armatori - Approdi di Passione
SI VIS PACEM, PARA BELLUM: Regia Nave San Giorgio, un incrociatore corazzato della Regia Marina che partecipò prima alla guerra italo-turca e successivamente, alla prima e alla seconda guerra mondiale e nel ruolo di nave ammiraglia, alla guerra civile spagnola.
“In guerra sul mare”
“Gli incrociatori italiani”

[MuccoPazzino]

+1

[YaSen]

+1
We need more of such ships for Italy: San Giorgio, Pisa, Regina Elena and Margherita, all are necessary to fill the gap between Zara-class and dreadnoughts.

[LoSpilotoITA]

Cool one +1

[Jareel_Skaj]

This would make for an amazing event/battle pass vessel.

Do you have any information about the type of armour it had (How it compared to RHA?), as well as the specs of shells available?

[ImportantSimone5]

From what I know, it have the same armour in all the versions, but Idk what type it was.
Btw, about the ammos:

254 mm: AP shells (weights: 227 kg; propellant charge: 84,2 kg; muzzle velocity: 870 m/s)
190 mm: no infos
100 mm: AP shells (weights: 90,9 kg; propellant charge: 32,3 kg; muzzle velocity: 860 m/s) [already in-game]
13 mm: [already in-game].

[Jareel_Skaj]

These were solid shot? ☠

I’ll try to dig through my library, will see if I can find some additional info

[skipper_123]

+1 more Italian mid tier ships

[Jareel_Skaj]

Per Norman Friedman, Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines, and ASW Weapons of All Nations: An Illustrated Directory, Naval Institute Press 2011:

254/45 A 1907 (The book confirms what you have found out - that the Modello 1907 was used on San Giorgio rather than the Modello 1908 that’s listed on Wikipedia’s source)

• Calibre: 254 mm
• Length overall: 468.8 in / 46.9 calibres
• Length bore: 45 calibres
• Rifling: 60 grooves with 1/30 twist
• Elevation: most likely +35° / -5°, same as 254/45 V 1906
• Muzzle velocity: 2850 ft/sec
• Shells (note that the book points out numerous discrepancies between 1911 Italian data provided to US Navy, 1908 British intelligence, British 1911 foreign ordnance handbook and Italian 1919 data with the final two indicating that the shells were identical to the 254/45 V 1906 (which are the numbers for CAPC and Common HE shells below))
  • Capped AP
    • Mass: 478.5 lbs
    • Bursting charge: ???
  • Capped AP, Capped
    • Mass: 494.3 lbs
    • Bursting charge: 4.9 lbs
  • Common HE
    • Mass: 489.8 lbs
    • Bursting charge: 31.8 lbs

190/45 A 1908

• Calibre: 190 mm
• Length overall: 349.2in (8869.5mm) / 46.56 calibres
• Length bore: 337.5in (8686.6mm) / 45 calibres
• Rifling: 72 grooves with 1/30 twist
• Elevation: ???
• Muzzle velocity: 2788.77 ft/sec
• Shells (per Italian 1919 data)
  • AP
    • Mass: 200.39 lbs
    • Bursting charge: 2.332 lbs
  • Common
    • Mass: 198.11 lbs
    • Bursting charge: 11.706 lbs

No picture for the 190mm.

Other guns of the vessel weren’t described in the book.

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per Jane’s Fighting Ships 1905/6, republished by Arco Publishing Co. 1970 and Jane’s Fighting Ships 1938

Armour scheme

location	armour (Terni) per JFS 1905/6	armour per JFS 1938
belt amidships	8 inch	8 inch
belt ends	3.25 inch	2.25 inch
decks		1.75 inch and 1.5 inch
lower deck redoubt	7 inch	7 inch
main barbettes	6.5 inch	8 inch
turrets to these	6.5 inch	7.25 inch
citadel	7 inch	7 inch
secondary turrets	7 inch	6.25 inch
conning towers (4)	7 inch	9.75 inch

Additional detail per Jane’s Fighting Ships 1938:

Speed on trials: 23,2 knots

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per Enrico Cernuschi, A colpi di cannone Tomo I, Rivista Marittima 2022:

100 mm gun turret:

[McPuff]

+1
Would be great to see more pre-dreadnought era ships, especially to complement Ikoma

[Th0r94]

+1 would love to see this armored/heavy cruiser in game